Flask charging machine for foundries



June 5, 1951 A. 5. 55m; 2,555,914

FLASK CHARGING MACHINE FOR FOUNDRIES Filed Aug. 12, 1949 0 Z9 19 a; 6 /.sr//v 5555c Patented June 5, 1951 FLASK CHARGING MACHINE FOR, FOUNDRIES Austin Sidney Beech, Leighton Buzzard, England,

assignor to Foundry Equipment Limited, Leighton Buzzard, England, a British company Application August 12, 1949, Serial No. 110,000 In Great Britain June 7, 1949 8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in and relating to foundry moulding machines, more particularly to machines for filling moulding boxes or flasks.

In British patent specification No. 570,641 we have described a machine for this purpose com prising a central support or mast, a cantilever jib rotatably mounted thereon, an arm pivoted to the jib and carrying at its end remote from the pivot a centrifugal rammer head with an internal rotor, a motor-driven conveyor of the endless band type on the jib arranged to deliver sand to a second motor-driven endless band conveyor on the arm which in turn delivers the sand to the rammer head on the end of the arm, and a single motor driving the conveyor on the arm and the motor of the rammer head, the motor being carried by the arm near its pivot end.

An object of the present invention is the provision of an improved machine of the above kind.

There is provided, in or for a machine for filling moulding boxes or flasks a moulding-sand ramming-unit comprising a centrifugal rammer head, a cantilever carrying-arm therefor mounted to rotate about a central support and a conveyor on the carrying-arm adapted to receive moulding-sand and to deliver it to the centrifugal rammer head.

The cantilever carrying-arm may be adapted to slide radially in a horizontal direction in relation to the central support by means of a roller and track connection, and the entire ramming unit may be mounted in a frame comprising a supporting portion for the central support and an overhead portion above the conveyor, carrying sand storage and delivery means for delivering sand to the conveyor.

Preferably an electric motor is fixed directly to the outer side of the centrifugal rammer head on the cantilever carrying arm.

The combined motor and rammer head may be connected by a hinge to the cantilever arm and a cone clutch may be provided between the hinged assemblies and so arranged that when the hinge is closed the motor also drives through the clutch, the conveyor, and when the hinge is opened, the drive to the conveyor is interrupted and free access to the interior of the rammer head is obtainable.

The complete unitary structure may have the lower part of the frame fixed to a base or on the ground or may be fitted with wheels or the like to afford general mobility or movement along a track.

The cantilever arm may be connected to its support by roller-and-track connection, so that it can be slid in and out radially relatively to the support and if this is done it obviates the need which existed in the prior construction for an arm pivoted to the end of the cantilever to carry the rammer head and afford it universal movement in a horizontal plane.

One way of carrying the invention into effect will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in Which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a sand ramming machine;

Figure 2 is a detail drawing of the rammer head assembly hinged to its carrying arm.

Referring to the drawings, a frame I formed of two parallel U-shaped members having limbs of unequal length and lying on its side has between its shorter upper limbs 2, a hopper 3 of which the base is formed by an endless conveyor belt 4 driven by an electric motor 5 attached to a member 6 depending from the upper part 2 of the frame.

Beneath the delivery end I of the conveyor belt 4 is a cantilever arm 8 pivoted on bearings at 9 so as to rotate in a horizontal plane on an upstanding tubular column [0 fixed to cross pieces I I joining the lower and longer arms H! of the U- shaped frame I.

Rollers I 3 co-operate with a track 14 in the cantilever arm 8 so as to permit of horizontal radial movement of the latter with respect to the column ID.

The cantilever arm carries a second endless conveyor belt [5 arranged to receive sand, at all positions of the arm, from the hopper delivery belt 4 and guide 28 and to deliver it from the end It to a rammer head ll to which an electric motor is is attached on the side remote from the conveyor 15. The rammer head I! is preferably of the kind described in British patent application No. 2,483/ i9 wherein a high speed rotor, within the head and furnished with a plurality of blades which are individually adjustable for wear, projects a substantially continuous and high speed stream of sand into a mould box or flask situated beneath the head.

The electric motor 18 and rammer head I! assembly is hinged on one side [9 so that it may be swung clear of the end of the cantilever arm 8 for any necessary adjustment or replacement of the blades 28 or interior of the head l1.

As shown in Figure 2 the drive of the electric motor I8 is taken by way of the rotor shaft 2| to a cone clutch, one member 20 of which is 3 fixed to the shaft 21 of the rotor 22 of the rammer head 11 and the other 23 to the mechanism for operating the conveyor band 15 in the cantilever arm 8.

The arrangement of the base of the frame I lends itself readily to permanent attachment to a base or, by the addition of wheels 24 or rollers, to easy mobility on a track 25 or otherwise.

The clutch is shown disconnected in Figure 2 and the hinged rotor is exposed for adjustment or repair.

In operation the hinged rammer head assembly IT, I8 is closed securely against the face 26 on the conveyor arm 8, the clutch members 20 and 23 engage, and sand is passed from the conveyor belt 15 through the orifice 21 where it is entrained by the blades 28! of the rotor 23 and projected at high velocity through the orifice 28 to the mould box or flask.

It will be seen that the radial and pivotal movement of the arm 8 will enable the rammer head to be capable of easy and universal movement over its entire range.

I claim:

1. A moulding machine for filling moulding flasks comprising in combination a column, a cantilever arm thereon, a rammer head on said cantilever arm, said rammer head having a ramming impeller therein rotatable on a horizontal axis and a door to aiiord access to the impeller, a conveyor extending longitudinally of said cantilever arm from a place of reception Of moulding sand to the rammer head, means to deliver sand to said conveyor, a driving motor mounted on the door of the rammer head, means coupling the motor to drive the impeller, driving means on the rammer head to drive the conveyor and a disengageable coupling between the motor and the driving means for the conveyor such as to be disengaged when the door is opened and en gaged when it is shut.

2. A moulding machine as claimed in claim 1 including a head portion of the column rotatable thereon in a substantially horizontal plane and means permitting substantially horizontal longitudinal movement of said cantilever arm on said rotatable head portion of the column.

3. A moulding machine as claimed in claim 1 including a head portion of the column rotatable thereon in a substantially horizontal plane, rollers on said head portion and tracks on said cantilever arm co-acting with said rollers to permit of substantially horizontal longitudinal movement of the said arm along said head portion.

4. A moulding machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the driving motor is mounted on the door on the side thereof remote from the column.

5. A moulding machine as claimed in claim 1 including a hinged connection between the door and the cantilever arm.

6. A moulding machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the disengageable coupling includes a pair of clutch members one of said members being on the impeller and the other on the cantilever arm for driving the conveyor.

7. A moulding machine as claimed in claim 1 including a frame having a base sup-porting por tion for the column and a portion extending upwardly from the base to a position above the conveyor and there carrying sand storage means and means for delivering sand to the conveyor.

8. A moulding machine as claimed in claim 1 including a frame having a base supporting portion for the column, wheels on said base supporting portion, and a portion extending upwardly from the base to a position above the conveyor and there carrying sand storage means and means for delivering sand tothe conveyor.

AUSTIN SIDNEY BEECH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,476,134 Beardsley Dec. 4, 1923 1,684,478 Dill Sept. 18, 1928 

